It was a coincidence, last few weeks whoever I coached had a similar issue, almost all the seven cases had one key area where their life revolved, and that was “Depression” out of all the seven, some were more sad with the thought that they were about to be diagnosed with depression while others were worried that they had caught it like the contagious flu! from someone else and need a method without treatment to get rid of it.
The conversations that followed were very interesting, it gave me a completely new insight into human psyche, where I found individuals more obsessed or otherwise worried about a concept they had barely any knowledge about.
All they knew was it meant sadness, and since we all do go through episodes of sadness in our respective lives, they assumed they were suffering from it, almost a chronic form of it.
some of them even sought treatment without medicines, asking me if I have a coaching pill which could just kill it.
Being a Life Coach, this concept is beyond the realms of a coaching service, but today, I chose to write on this particular topic, to bring about basic awareness which according to me, is the need of the hour.
- The awareness at one end is to let people understand when they are actually suffering from it, which calls for a treatment and
- when one is only experiencing sadness on account of an unpleasant event or personal loss and are therefore not a patient of depression .
The awareness is also for those who perhaps have just learned about this term from social media and are applying it to themselves and people around them without any clue of its real meaning, concept, and relevance.
Let us begin with, to first understand what is the real meaning of depression through its meaning.
Depression – feelings of severe despondency and dejection.
Sadness – a feeling of showing sorrow or Unhappy
(Courtesy: dictionary.com)
Next, Let’s understand what is Clinical Depression is
The clinical definition of depressions is a mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life
It is an episode where an individual finds it difficult to work, sleep, eat or enjoy friends and normal regular activities.
It usually persists for two weeks or more
It happens due to changes in the neural activity of the brain
(Courtesy: http://www.webmd.com)
After reading through these statements, I hope it perhaps provides the basic difference of just being sad or if one is actually going through a clinical depression.
The idea here is to create awareness by the basic know-how of two very different concepts.
Whatever the case may be, if one find ourselves not very happy with one’s state of mind, the best approach is to seek an expert which could diagnose and suggest the most appropriate remedy, than to sulk or assume just like my clients who were more petrified
by the idea that they just have it and wanted to desperately get rid of it.
Despite Depression being categorized as a mental ailment, it needs attention and right treatment just our physical body when we fall sick, it in no way turns an individual into a lunatic or an insane human being and is not a matter of shame to get treated for it.
Make a note that the DSM-Vol5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders) is the most widely practiced book used by all clinicians and psychiatrist to assess and detect mental ailments.
So next time when you feel not so pleasant on account of a recent event, episode or situation, be aware of your feelings, understand your self and how you feel and for how long
and if the symptoms persist, make sure you know whom to reach out and why.
I wish God bless us all with a healthy body and mind, and that none of us ever get to ever experience it, but being aware, may not only help us but many around us in early detection and treatment.
As a Life Coach, I do not treat depression, but assist my client to reflect, ruminate and restore, finding solutions through simplified coaching techniques, both at professional and personal front. (Career)
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